DISCIPLINE: School board, where are you?

Another stabbing incident. Hazel Bauman, Coeur d'Alene's Schools' Superintendent, reacts by announcing a "task force" to study the discipline problem in our schools. Why did it take a knife incident on campus and a headline in the Coeur d'Alene Press to get the attention of the School Board? Why do we get a "study" instead of action? How hard is it to enforce rules? Perhaps the task force needs to report to the public on why existing rules are not enforced before creating new rules that may not be enforced. They need to tell us why, and how the system is broken.

What have the administrators of these schools been doing during these years of growing discipline problems? Are they not responsible for taking charge of their own schools?

What has caused such a lack of administrative control? Perhaps it is due in part to the Collective Bargaining Agreement which provides for evaluation of principals by three peer administrators and three Coeur d'Alene union representatives. I believe the School Board trustees should take responsibility for providing good leadership on our campuses and not have the current "hands off" policy.

Perhaps, the discipline problems are due to the administrations' desire to keep unruly children in their classrooms, rather than expel them in order to maintain a high ADA (Average Daily Attendance). School funding is based on ADA in Idaho as in other states. Teachers will tell you that unruly behavior stops learning in a classroom, and that the extra money is not worth robbing well behaved students of an education. Our teachers and students deserve a safer and more productive teaching atmosphere.

The buck should stop with the School Board. We need trustees who will take the safety of our children seriously. We need trustees who will act immediately and decisively and not wait for the recommendations of a "task force."

Restrictions on public input at the School Board meetings force citizens to go to the irregularly held "chat sessions" to communicate problems about discipline. These sessions are poorly attended by board members, again stifling communication with trustees. I ask you, where should parents go when they are ignored at their child's school, board meetings and chat sessions?

School Board Trustee elections will be held on May 17. I recommend that voters in Zones 2 and 3 evaluate the candidates based on their independence from the present "education insiders," who have failed to provide a level of discipline and safety we expect in Coeur d'Alene schools. Please call the Kootenai County Election office to find your zone and voting site.

SHELLEY WOODARD

Coeur d'Alene